A small update on where Justin Harrell is with his injury...

Warning: I found the article to stray away from the main point, so I'll post a very short summary, about where Harrell currently is in his recovery, underneath the article in case you don't feel like reading through unnecessary paragraphs.

Compared to the leg and ankle injuries that cost Justin Harrell parts of two college seasons, the ruptured biceps tendon he sustained in September was, in his word, "nothing."

"I was mad," said Birdine, an undrafted end who sustained a nearly identical injury in preseason practice two years ago. "I wish I could have broke a bone or something. Then you're out six weeks and you just come back, as opposed to tearing your tendon. It's basically the equivalent or tearing your ACL in your knee."

Birdine recovered from surgery quickly enough to play for Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl less than five months after his injury, though he admits he only had 50 percent strength in his left arm.

Harrell, a first-round pick out of Tennessee, has had almost twice as long to recover. Yet, he sat out all team portions of Green Bay's offseason practices and isn't expected to be cleared for contact until early next month.

Packers coaches point out evaluation is difficult until players put on pads in training camp. However, there is a possibility Harrell, no matter how good he feels, will not be at full strength when training camp opens July 28 — or perhaps anytime this season.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, patients generally are prohibited from "forceful biceps activity" for four to six months after surgery. Rebuilding the muscle to its pre-surgery size and strength can take much longer.

"The muscle recovery is gradual," said Dr. Randall Mohler, a surgeon who specializes in sports medicine at the California Orthopaedic Institute.

"(It takes) a year to even a year-and-a-half before muscles will feel fully recovered, and (sustained strength) is one of the last things to come back. Even when someone is in the weight room and says, 'This feels 100 percent,' they'll notice it fatigues faster."

Harrell says there was no contact on the play that in essence ended his college career. He swung his left arm in the direction of an Air Force ball-carrier and felt a pop as the tendon separated from the bone at his elbow — what doctors call a distal tear. Unlike proximal tears, which occur at the shoulder and account for more than 90 percent of all biceps ruptures, distal tears almost always are repaired surgically because the biceps can't function without that connection.

With no risk of further injury, Harrell played the next week against Florida with padding from just below his shoulder to the middle of his forearm. He knew it would be his last game — doctors encourage fixing the injury before the tendon retracts too far into the arm — and Tennessee team doctors Greg Mathien and Robert Ivy performed the surgery two days later, on Sept. 18.

Harrell spent a couple of weeks in a sling, then began rehabilitation to rebuild the shrunken muscle and regain his range of motion. Roughly six months after surgery, he impressed scouts at his campus workout by bench-pressing 500 pounds — best among the four defensive tackles drafted in the first two rounds. But the Packers' medical staff has proceeded with understandable caution.

"If I had to go out and perform, I would feel confident in my arm and going out there and doing things with it," Harrell said in a phone call last week. "It's just something that's going to take a little bit longer, a little process to get it back up."

The process will begin in earnest in training camp, when Harrell is expected to compete with Corey Williams for a starting job opposite veteran Ryan Pickett.

"In the classroom, the guy's good," defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn said, declining to reveal where on the depth chart the rookie will start. "He's getting a little antsy, wanting to go ahead and test it, but until (team doctors) give us clearance, I don't have anything to do with it."

At 6-foot-4, Harrell matches Williams as the Packers' tallest defensive tackle, and he's bulked up from 300 pounds in college to between 310 and 315. Harrell's presence will increase competition in a group that includes Colin Cole and Johnny Jolly, provided he's healthy.

Spending time on the sideline during minicamp and OTAs gave Harrell an opportunity to learn the Packers' scheme — a significant departure from the attacking, read-on-the-run defense he played at Tennessee — from the outside. He spent much of his time getting pointers from end Aaron Kampman, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

"I'm glad the OTAs are over," Harrell said. "It was a good period for me to pretty much get the whole grasp of the defense, and I think I got a pretty good idea. Now, I'm just ready to take another step."

"The good news for him is that these almost never will re-rupture out after the recovery period," Mohler said. "(Doctors are) nervous right after surgery, because we don't want someone to have to go back to surgery or go through a surgery that doesn't help them out. But now that he's had nine months of recovery, his chance of re-rupturing this should be almost down to zero."

All Harrell has to show for the injury is a small scar on the inside of his arm, below the elbow. He says he isn't concerned about any mental hurdles when he returns to contact drills, because he played with the tendon torn against Florida.

Birdine didn't have the luxury of that comparison, either. But he guarantees Harrell won't make his first tackle without a little hesitation.

"You really don't want to go in there and do the same thing that you did that you hurt yourself," Birdine said. "But, they tell you that the chance of your tearing it again is pretty much like being struck by lightning."

- Harrell feels good, and is only waiting for the team doctors to clear him to play. There have been NO setbacks with his rehab. He's got the strength back in his arm. Team doctors are just being cautious, and have no reason to suspect Harrell isn't healing on schedule.

- The only problem Harrell will likely face is not being able to sustain his strength (in the arm which suffered the tear) for long periods of time. In other words, one of his arms will get "tired" faster than the other. The problem will sort itself out in a few months, at the latest.

- The probability of this injury happening once again is VERY small. Like "getting struck by lightning" small. Harrell played an entire game the week after he suffered an injury, so Harrell doesn't see himself having any mental roadblocks once he is ready to play DT in games.

my biggest concern about harrell is what you mentioned, the mental roadblock. considering Robert Ferguson, i think we should all be concerned about that. But he DID play the week after it happened, so he has no lack of toughness. Although, before the fergie situation, he was pretty tough too. I guess i just hope Harrell can be competitive.

Physically I think he has the tools to be a pretty good player. I'm not sure if he has the potential to be great though. I think he can be a solid player. A Santana Dotson like player and those players, as we know, can get you a Super Bowl.

Mentally though I'm not sure what to make. He played hard in the Florida game when he did get hurt and that is something I really like about Harrell. However he can't be stupid like Daunte Culpepper. If he needs to miss a week or two of training camp then so be it. Corey Williams is probably going to start anyways on opening day. Harrell just needs to work is way into the rotation and go from there.

I think this is good stuff. They're being careful with him, but making him work at everything else. He knows what is expected of him (and worst case scenario I think would be that he is just an average Dlineman). Re-injury is impropbable...and I like him, I've seen a lot of his interviews on packers.com and hes a good guy, I hope it works out.

Our D-Line will be SICK!

I also love how MM\TT aren't rushing him. He's the 1st round draft pick and a lot of GM\HCs would want to get him out there and parade him around and go "See what we got? We did that. We're awesome" but they are playing it safe so he is ready to rumble when things really matter.

I think this is good stuff. They're being careful with him, but making him work at everything else. He knows what is expected of him (and worst case scenario I think would be that he is just an average Dlineman). Re-injury is impropbable...and I like him, I've seen a lot of his interviews on packers.com and hes a good guy, I hope it works out.

Our D-Line will be SICK!

I also love how MM\TT aren't rushing him. He's the 1st round draft pick and a lot of GM\HCs would want to get him out there and parade him around and go "See what we got? We did that. We're awesome" but they are playing it safe so he is ready to rumble when things really matter.

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I've come around full circle on this draft pick...from when they first selected him (wtf)...to now, when I think this is a pretty good pick...and I'm from the school of thought that believes rookies should be eased into playing rather than thrown out right away

I think this is good stuff. They're being careful with him, but making him work at everything else. He knows what is expected of him (and worst case scenario I think would be that he is just an average Dlineman). Re-injury is impropbable...and I like him, I've seen a lot of his interviews on packers.com and hes a good guy, I hope it works out.

Our D-Line will be SICK!

I also love how MM\TT aren't rushing him. He's the 1st round draft pick and a lot of GM\HCs would want to get him out there and parade him around and go "See what we got? We did that. We're awesome" but they are playing it safe so he is ready to rumble when things really matter.

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I've come around full circle on this draft pick...from when they first selected him (wtf)...to now, when I think this is a pretty good pick...and I'm from the school of thought that believes rookies should be eased into playing rather than thrown out right away

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I've had a pretty exhausting weekend so maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but if you come FULL circle (which is 360 degrees) don't you land right where you were before? Meaning if you initially felt "WTF" that you did a 180 with the thinking it is a good pick and then completed a full circle by going back to thinking "WTF" about the pick?

From what I read, I feel you simply did a 180 on the pick.

Crap, I don't know, but I agree with rookies should be eased into their roles instead of thrusted into them. Being able to ease rookies into their position shows quite a bit to me. It means we're not so desperate that were gonna throw a young man into the water with 30lb anchors and telling him to find a way to swim.

Now that some time has passed since the draft, I actually do like this pick. It was just such a shock to the system when it happened, since he was injured most of his college career.

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My biggest shock was because i had never HEARD of the guy before the Packers picked him. But thats my own fault. I don't really spend alot of time looking at college players.
Hopefully he will destroy other teams O lines and make us fall in love with him!

same sentiments here cheesey. i like to think of myself as a somewhat well-versed NFL fan, but one thing i lack is much knowledge of college players and consequently knowledge concerning the draft. Because of his past, i believe Thompson has earned my respect when it comes to the draft. i wasn't pissed when we picked harrell, i just didn't know who he was!

Speaking of knowing the players we draft, I completely embarrassed my wife at Outback Steakhouse when we drafted Abdul Hodge. Being the huge Hawkeye fan I am, to say I was excited is an understatement. The draft was being shown at Outback on all the TVs, and when they showed that GB had just picked Hodge, I had a mouthful of food, stood up and yelled "YES!" with my arms in the air. There was a lot of clapping when the rest of the people there realised that Hodge had been picked, but my wife was red in the face! It was great! Now, on draft day, we can't eat anywhere that is showing the draft.

Physically I think he has the tools to be a pretty good player. I'm not sure if he has the potential to be great though. I think he can be a solid player. A Santana Dotson like player and those players, as we know, can get you a Super Bowl.

Mentally though I'm not sure what to make. He played hard in the Florida game when he did get hurt and that is something I really like about Harrell. However he can't be stupid like Daunte Culpepper. If he needs to miss a week or two of training camp then so be it. Corey Williams is probably going to start anyways on opening day. Harrell just needs to work is way into the rotation and go from there.

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From the video of Justin...I always felt he reminded me more of a John Henderson.

Nathaniel; NEVER, EVER, hold back on your enthusiasm for the Packers. You are only showing your intelligence...after all, it's not like you're a Lion or Viking fan They need to hide their alligence. Yes, I'm ashamed to have questioned TT's choice of Harrell, since I'd never heard of him either. But now, knowing that other teams would have grabbed him early on, and his work ethic againest Florida, I'm sure TT made another great pick. Solid DLs excite me as much as great OLs do. Those are terrific battle zones. Corey Williams now knows that no matter what else happens, if he really wants a big contract next year from whatever team, he's going to have to out-do Harrell. That's going to be a job and one half for him and the team will benefit.

Nathaniel; NEVER, EVER, hold back on your enthusiasm for the Packers. You are only showing your intelligence...after all, it's not like you're a Lion or Viking fan They need to hide their alligence. Yes, I'm ashamed to have questioned TT's choice of Harrell, since I'd never heard of him either. But now, knowing that other teams would have grabbed him early on, and his work ethic againest Florida, I'm sure TT made another great pick. Solid DLs excite me as much as great OLs do. Those are terrific battle zones. Corey Williams now knows that no matter what else happens, if he really wants a big contract next year from whatever team, he's going to have to out-do Harrell. That's going to be a job and one half for him and the team will benefit.

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Oh, I never do! My wife is use to it now. I think she was more embarrassed that I yelled with food in my mouth than the fact that I yelled at all. Plus, other people were cheering too, because Hodge was a Hawkeye. I was just the loudest one! Haha!

I'm looking forward to seeing what Harrell can do. Like I said earlier, now that some time has passed since the draft, I've had time to look at the picks, and do a little research on them. I really don't think we made any really bad picks.

(This is my 200th post, by the way. Finally, my first little helmet under my name!)

Physically I think he has the tools to be a pretty good player. I'm not sure if he has the potential to be great though. I think he can be a solid player. A Santana Dotson like player and those players, as we know, can get you a Super Bowl.

Mentally though I'm not sure what to make. He played hard in the Florida game when he did get hurt and that is something I really like about Harrell. However he can't be stupid like Daunte Culpepper. If he needs to miss a week or two of training camp then so be it. Corey Williams is probably going to start anyways on opening day. Harrell just needs to work is way into the rotation and go from there.

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From the video of Justin...I always felt he reminded me more of a John Henderson.

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I think Henderson has more natural gifts. In my opinion Henderson is one of the 3 best DT's in the league. If Harrell is half the player (literally) that Henderson is I'll be pretty happy with the pick.

Nathaniel; NEVER, EVER, hold back on your enthusiasm for the Packers. You are only showing your intelligence...after all, it's not like you're a Lion or Viking fan They need to hide their alligence. Yes, I'm ashamed to have questioned TT's choice of Harrell, since I'd never heard of him either. But now, knowing that other teams would have grabbed him early on, and his work ethic againest Florida, I'm sure TT made another great pick. Solid DLs excite me as much as great OLs do. Those are terrific battle zones. Corey Williams now knows that no matter what else happens, if he really wants a big contract next year from whatever team, he's going to have to out-do Harrell. That's going to be a job and one half for him and the team will benefit.

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Oh, I never do! My wife is use to it now. I think she was more embarrassed that I yelled with food in my mouth than the fact that I yelled at all. Plus, other people were cheering too, because Hodge was a Hawkeye. I was just the loudest one! Haha!

I'm looking forward to seeing what Harrell can do. Like I said earlier, now that some time has passed since the draft, I've had time to look at the picks, and do a little research on them. I really don't think we made any really bad picks.

(This is my 200th post, by the way. Finally, my first little helmet under my name!)

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WHOO HOO!!! Got your helmet! CONGRATS!!!
Oh....and GREAT story about you and your wife!!! :thumbsup:
(I embarrass my wife all the time!!!) :rotflmao:

Physically I think he has the tools to be a pretty good player. I'm not sure if he has the potential to be great though. I think he can be a solid player. A Santana Dotson like player and those players, as we know, can get you a Super Bowl.

Mentally though I'm not sure what to make. He played hard in the Florida game when he did get hurt and that is something I really like about Harrell. However he can't be stupid like Daunte Culpepper. If he needs to miss a week or two of training camp then so be it. Corey Williams is probably going to start anyways on opening day. Harrell just needs to work is way into the rotation and go from there.

Click to expand...

From the video of Justin...I always felt he reminded me more of a John Henderson.

Click to expand...

I think Henderson has more natural gifts. In my opinion Henderson is one of the 3 best DT's in the league. If Harrell is half the player (literally) that Henderson is I'll be pretty happy with the pick.

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I just think Harrell is closer to Henderson than he is Dotson and that's not a cut on Dotson. Dotson was just a different type of DT under 300 lbs. Harrell is very big and very very strong with good quickness much like a Henderson. I agree that Henderson may be one of the top 3 DT's in the league and I believe Harrell has all the tools to be up in that conversation of who's the best DT in the league. That all being said he still has to prove it on the field.

Nathaniel; NEVER, EVER, hold back on your enthusiasm for the Packers. You are only showing your intelligence...after all, it's not like you're a Lion or Viking fan They need to hide their alligence. Yes, I'm ashamed to have questioned TT's choice of Harrell, since I'd never heard of him either. But now, knowing that other teams would have grabbed him early on, and his work ethic againest Florida, I'm sure TT made another great pick. Solid DLs excite me as much as great OLs do. Those are terrific battle zones. Corey Williams now knows that no matter what else happens, if he really wants a big contract next year from whatever team, he's going to have to out-do Harrell. That's going to be a job and one half for him and the team will benefit.

Click to expand...

Oh, I never do! My wife is use to it now. I think she was more embarrassed that I yelled with food in my mouth than the fact that I yelled at all. Plus, other people were cheering too, because Hodge was a Hawkeye. I was just the loudest one! Haha!

I'm looking forward to seeing what Harrell can do. Like I said earlier, now that some time has passed since the draft, I've had time to look at the picks, and do a little research on them. I really don't think we made any really bad picks.

(This is my 200th post, by the way. Finally, my first little helmet under my name!)

Click to expand...

WHOO HOO!!! Got your helmet! CONGRATS!!!
Oh....and GREAT story about you and your wife!!! :thumbsup:
(I embarrass my wife all the time!!!) :rotflmao:

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Yeah Cheesy, but he was talking about when he had his pants ON!! :thumbsup:

my biggest concern about harrell is what you mentioned, the mental roadblock. considering Robert Ferguson, i think we should all be concerned about that. But he DID play the week after it happened, so he has no lack of toughness. Although, before the fergie situation, he was pretty tough too. I guess i just hope Harrell can be competitive.

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I don't see how you can compare a torn bicep to getting clothes lined and nearly paralyzed.

Physically I think he has the tools to be a pretty good player. I'm not sure if he has the potential to be great though. I think he can be a solid player. A Santana Dotson like player and those players, as we know, can get you a Super Bowl.

Mentally though I'm not sure what to make. He played hard in the Florida game when he did get hurt and that is something I really like about Harrell. However he can't be stupid like Daunte Culpepper. If he needs to miss a week or two of training camp then so be it. Corey Williams is probably going to start anyways on opening day. Harrell just needs to work is way into the rotation and go from there.

Click to expand...

From the video of Justin...I always felt he reminded me more of a John Henderson.

Click to expand...

I think Henderson has more natural gifts. In my opinion Henderson is one of the 3 best DT's in the league. If Harrell is half the player (literally) that Henderson is I'll be pretty happy with the pick.

Click to expand...

I just think Harrell is closer to Henderson than he is Dotson and that's not a cut on Dotson. Dotson was just a different type of DT under 300 lbs. Harrell is very big and very very strong with good quickness much like a Henderson. I agree that Henderson may be one of the top 3 DT's in the league and I believe Harrell has all the tools to be up in that conversation of who's the best DT in the league. That all being said he still has to prove it on the field.

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I was comparing his level of play to Dotson. Not his physical attributes. I don't think he can be one of the 3 best DT's in the league. I hope he proves me wrong but I see him as a solid starter for years but really anything beyond that would surprise me.